Gwangyang Economic Free Zone Authority, Investment Attraction Experts Collaborate

Listening to Data Industry Policy Trends, Building Hwanggeumsandan Data Center, etc.

Discussion on Corporate Trends Following US IRA Implementation and Foreign Investment Attraction Strategies

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority (Commissioner Song Sang-rak, hereinafter GFEZ Authority) held separate expert meetings in the fields of data industry and overseas marketing to review this year's achievements and explore activation plans to promote investment attraction in strategic industries in the Gwangyang Bay Area.

On the morning of the 12th, the GFEZ Authority held the 'GFEZ Data Industry Expert Group Meeting' at the Yongsan conference room of the Nine Tree Locaus Hotel in Seoul.

[Photo by Gwangyang Economic Promotion Agency]

Presided over by Kim Jeong-wan, Head of Investment Attraction Headquarters, the meeting was attended by advisory committee members in the data industry and officials from the Jeonnam Cloud Data Center. They listened to recent policy trends such as the government's policy to decentralize data centers to local areas and the enforcement of the Special Act on the Activation of Distributed Energy, followed by a business plan presentation by the Jeonnam Cloud Data Center and expert consultations.

Advanced cloud data centers are essential infrastructure supporting the rapid expansion of data-based generative AI services such as ChatGPT and the acceleration of digital transformation. Demand is increasing significantly every year, and it is expected to lay the foundation for industrial development.

The GFEZ Authority has signed a business agreement with Jeonnam Province in August for the Jeonnam Cloud Data Center in the Hwanggeum Industrial Complex within the Gwangyang Bay Area, with a total project cost of 750 billion KRW. In November, the Ministry of Industry completed the official announcement adding the information and communication service industry code, and plans to finalize detailed plans in consultation with related organizations by December.

Later that day, the GFEZ Authority held the '2023 Overseas Marketing Expert Group Meeting' at the conference room of the President Hotel in Seoul, attended by representatives from country-specific companies and organizations such as the Korea branch of the People's Daily, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The meeting proceeded with an introduction to GFEZ foreign investment attraction trends and the new foreign investment attraction plan for 2024, followed by a presentation on the ESS industry development strategy according to the enactment of the Special Act on the Activation of Distributed Energy, a special lecture on the recently announced detailed rules of the U.S. IRA, and trends of Chinese companies, concluding with a free discussion.

The attending experts unanimously agreed that to revitalize the attraction of foreign companies to the Gwangyang Bay Area, it is important to establish an investment attraction strategy utilizing Korea's FTA network, focusing on the rapidly growing ESS industry and supply chain transition opportunities following the implementation of the U.S. IRA. They also emphasized that overseas IR jointly promoted by companies and associations can be an effective marketing method.

Song Sang-rak, Commissioner of the GFEZ Authority, said, "We will do our best to support the successful settlement of data centers in the Gwangyang Bay Area by reflecting experts' opinions," adding, "Since the Gwangyang Bay Area has optimal conditions and industrial infrastructure for export and import utilizing Korea's FTAs, we will actively incorporate experts' field opinions and policy suggestions into the foreign investment attraction strategy."

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.